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American holidays seem to come and go without much notice here in Korea. For example, the Fourth of July just swept on by, along with Memorial day. But, Thanksgiving seems to have a special place here in the land of kimchi and dumplings. You can choose to either order all the fixings yourself and have a party locally or choose from restaurants and hotels serving up the infamous meal.

Several months ago I was watching the Korean news on my TV and they were talking about some kind of ramen. It turned out to be a kind made with chicken broth, instead of the usual spicy mix. Ever since then I have been trying to find it at my local marts. I finally gave up, and then last weekend spotted it.

As I started to cook it, I wondered if it would taste like the Chicken Ramen cups I like to have at home. The packaging called for you to add a few extra ingredients, but I only had the egg.

Whatever the holiday means to us Americans, it should be a day celebrated around the world for being grateful. From the last Thanksgiving and to this one, a lot has transpired in my life. I have a stable job here in Korea, but lost my relationship with someone I had been with for two years.

Yet, I am still grateful for all I have. My warm Tom to cuddle with at night, and the blessings of a family that live far away.

As the holidays approach, being far from family lets you remember that you are out here alone. Therefore, I am grateful for the friends I have here whether we keep in constant contact or just pass each other by on the land of Facebook. In addition, I am thankful for you, my readers who still come and read the blabberings that I post...thank you.

You might think that I am overjoyed with the news that I get to stay at the same school for another year. Definitely considering this will be the first school that accepted me for another year, in my four years living here. But the rush of life has been keeping me distracted. Report cards, test making and teaching the kids has got my mind busy.

Yet, today as I walked home and left the gates of the school I felt a small pinch of realization. I don't have to move or hunt for another job, I will be here again next year. Finally, I felt some form of relief and looked at the pale gray sky with appreciation.

I have been reading the blogger, "What Would Eve Do?" and noticing that she has been having a hard time at her Public School. It reminded me how when I was working at a hagwon (my first job here) I thought that Public Schools were a lot better. I quit that school after 5 months and moved to a Public School. Indeed, many improvements were felt and life was somewhat less stressful. But the fact that I was working in a Korean work environment never transformed.

Today I am addressing the allusion some people might have that Public School jobs are somewhat more magically better than hagwons. However, at PS jobs you definitely get paid on time and have solid vacation.

The most shopping I do in life seems to be at the grocery store. In college I only had about 25 dollars a week to live off of for groceries. Gosh! Can you imagine! I remember going to the cheap-o supermarket and getting a loaf of bread for 2.50, and thinking "Sheesh so expensive!"

In those days, a new flavor of jam was my excitement for the week. Actually, that fact is still true to this day. However, most yummy jams in Korea are really expensive.

I suppose my exciting flavor change of the week is finding Yuja flavored yogurt on sale at Lotte Mart.

If you travel enough around Seoul you start to notice large steel sculptures in front of corporate buildings. At first they look interesting, but after the fiftieth time you start to think it is just some kind of contest.

I found an article that talks about some kind of street artist covering up corporate sculptures. Some kind of new trend.

This might interest folks who want to expand their ability to work with young children. My brother works for a school (back home in the USA) where they try to give the kids as many creative possibilities as they can.

Today I realized something while watching the minutes tick down to my check-out time at work. I realized how I am happy to be where I am. An image of my life flashed to me of the time I was living in Eureka, California. It was summer vacation and I was trying to find a job to pick up some extra cash for the next semester. However, things weren't looking good.

I recalled being in the unemployment office where there were flyers and bulletin boards with listings on them. Then I looked around my classroom and understood just how far I have come in life. Back then I didn't get a summer job and just worked a few weeks at McDonald's.

Despite some of the hard times I have had in Korea, and the fact that the future is uncertain (as it always is) I am grateful to be here.

You might be already a little sick of the news generating article after article about the ten year anniversary over the events on 9/11/2011. But for me this year's anniversary feels more potent. I can't help but think about all that has transpired in my life and the world within the last ten years.